Best Of The Rest Roll Into December

POSTED Nov 28, 2012
By
Frank Cotolo

From my perspective,
sitting in a cold office looking out at a frozen field where only months ago
long, golden corn stalks were rising from the rich, brown dirt, winter has
arrived. It’s dramatic weather for harness horses; the elements of a wintry
climate set up more adversity for the monstrous equines.

Though it is an
adventure to visit a raceway under the pressure of this season, we are all
fortunate to have our connection to TwinSpires to be able to spend other nights
watching and wagering in a private space, not having to weather the biting
winds or sheets of snow and ice.

We can see it all on
line and as far as the season’s stakes are concerned we have just about seen it
all. Glamour-boy pacers give one more shot for big money on Sunday at Dover in
a Matrons Final. In Canada, pacing sophs that have not played a major role in
the division get a shot at some larger purses in th Autumn Stakes Finals.

And of course, our
personal books are published in these blogs as we continue our Horses to Watch
list (H2W).

Autumn Stakes

The Autumn Stakes final for soph-filly pacers is at Woodbine
on Friday, Nov. 30. Ten, with an also-eligible on hand, go to post for $60,000
total.

Getting into the final fray against solid favorites is a
filly that fits the Woodbine oval perfectly. Third in an elim last week, The
Speed Of Music got started a little too late to get to the top but was wailing
in late stretch just the way a lot of longshots like to do at Woodbine in those
final hundred or so feet. The speed is on the inside and there doesn’t seem to
be an argument against the top three morning-line choices.

The Speed Of Music can sensationalize on what could be some
shuffling from the top three and be in a grand spot to use her late speed to
topple them at a price.

The field for the $60,000
soph-colt pacing final has a pair of boys getting into the field from
less-than-perfect trips in their elims. Pass The Deuce was charging with a lot
of pace late at 13-1 and got to the wire with a close pair.

As well, Winbak Carl was ready to
charge but became locked in dearly, being robbed of third place by foes in
front of him. Set free, he could be the major upset and these two may even
share first and second in either position over the obvious public choices.

Matron Pace Boys

On Dec. 2 Dover Downs features the $176,663 Matron Stakes
final for glamour-boy pacers. A talented field of eight will go behind the gate
in the final major dash for the division.

Most of the win betting will go on Heston Blue Chip and
Thinking Out Loud, both impressive in last week’s eliminations (although
“Heston” lost to Hillbilly Hanover). However, a long-time foe on the far
outside poses a major threat for the top choice.

Bettor’s Edge made an uncharacteristic move last week,
brushing to the lead by the half. He will likely not challenge the leader early
as he drew the outside and pace will come from speed-demon Heston. Bettor’s
Edge will be somewhere in the middle-pack and should get cover from either
Thinking Out Loud or Escape The News. In this scenario, Bettor’s Edge would fan
off cover and successfully chase down Heston to win the Matron and keep the
divisional champ status as cloudy as it has been for most of the season.

Watching Horses

Our H2W list was open to the public beginning last week and
our files are being updated even as you read this. Again, we offer TwinSpires
players some overnighters with the kind of potential we look to find, usually
and hopefully accompanied by decent prices.

For those of you that missed last week’s recap of the H2W
specs, let’s go over them.

The H2W list offers horses you may play up to twice if they
don’t win the week after appearing on our list and you may wish to play them
only if they are a reasonable price; it’s your call on the value. Sometimes a
pair of H2W entries will appear in the same race. In the past, this has
produced a number of exactas and trifectas; these plays, too, are your call.

But the selections are potent, based on our experienced
spotters’ evaluations of recent trips. We will report on all the results as
each horse on the list races.

The legend is simple. We list the track atop the horse’s
name, the date it (or they) will be racing and the race where it is (or they
are) entered. If a + is in front of a horse’s name, it means that horse is
appearing on the list for the second or third time. An ae means the horse is on
the also-eligible list and needs a scratch to get into the race.

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Welcome to the TwinSpires Blog. Our contributors will be continually updating posts to offer commentary, insight, advice and expert opinions on horse racing and wagering. The goal is to help you win more and become a better all around horse player.

Contributors

TwinSpires' horse racing author, handicapper, and podcast host, Derek Simon of Denver, Colo. offers his insightful, humorous and sometimes controversial take on the horse racing industry. He even publishes the ROI on the picks he gives out.

The Director of Marketing for Bloodstock Research Information Services (BRIS) and a lifelong Thoroughbred racing enthusiast and astute handicapper, Ed joined Churchill Downs Inc. following nine years as a writer and editor with Thoroughbred Times.

A writer and editor who has been following horse racing for fifteen years. Peter has written books for the Daily Racing Form Press; Crown; and Simon and Schuster; among other publishers, and regular features in The Horseplayer Magazine.